The Cristero War--100th Anniversary and A Personal Connection

This year is the 100th Anniversary of The Cristero War that started in 1926 under Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles, an atheist, when he enforced five articles in the 1917 Constitution that were anti-Catholic and anticlerical because he believed that the Catholic Church was getting too powerful and too influential in local, state, and national politics. President Calles even enacted his own laws with the objective of doing away with the Catholic religion.

Soon he began the deportation of foreign priests and nuns, closed all Catholic and clerical primary schools, ordered priests to register with the civil authorities, confiscated all church property, including hospitals, monasteries, and convents.

Many Mexican priests and bishops fled to the United States and many more were expelled or assassinated. They were forced to abandon their parishes. Thus, they were not available to perform the sacraments or to say Mass. The parishioners were deprived of practicing their Catholic faith. In the process, many church records were lost, misplaced, or destroyed. The Mexican priests who did stayed behind could not wear their religious habits in public, vote in any election, or criticize government officials, or write negative editorials about public affairs in religious publications.

A hefty fine was imposed for violating these laws.

Those who came to the defense of the clergy and against the Mexican government were called Cristeros and their battle cry was "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" (Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!) It became a bloody war when the Cristeros took up arms to defend themselves against the brutal and vicious federal troops. The Cristero War ended in a compromise between the two warring factions that claimed some 90,000 lives.

On Thursday, June 27, 1929, the church bells all over Mexico rang for the first time in three years.

In the early part of October 2018, a dear friend and his wife took their first trip to Mexico City where they visited several museums, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They also went to the old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and saw a large painting of the twenty-five martyrs of the Cristero War, who were canonized by Pope John Paul II on Sunday, May 21, 2000. The impressive and reverential painting is hanging inside the old basilica and a tour guide told them that the painting has only been on display for about a year.

The vast majority of the martyrs are Catholic priests who were executed. These are the names of the 25 martyrs:

* Cristóbal Magallanes Jara (1869-1927)

* Román Adame Rosales (1859-1928)

* Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán (1875-1927)

* Julio Álvarez Mendoza (1866-1927)

* Luis Batis Sáinz (1870-1926)

* Agustín Caloca Cortés (1898-1927)

* Mateo Correa Magallanes (1866-1927)

* Atilano Cruz Alvarado (1901-1928)

* Miguel De La Mora (1874-1927)

* Pedro Esqueda Ramirez (1897-1927)

* Margarito Flores Garcia (1899-1927)

* José Isabel Flores Varela (1866-1927)

* David Galván Bermudes (1882-1915)

* Salvador Lara Puente (1905-1926)

* Pedro de Jesús Maldonado (1892 to 1937)

* Jesús Méndez Montoya (1880-1928)

* Manuel Moralez (1898-1926)

* Justino Orona Madrigal (1877-1928)

* Sabas Reyes Salazar (1879-1927)

* José María Robles Hurtado (1888-1927)

* David Roldán Lara (1907-1926)

* Toribio Romo González (1900-1928)

* Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (1886-1927)

* Tranquilino Ubiarco Robles (1899-1928)

* David Uribe Velasco (1888-1927)

My mother was born on December 12, 1927, on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I found the following document in her personal papers that I have had in my possession since she passed away on New Year's Eve of 2003. I made a translation of the document, but in essence, on March 18, 1946, she went to the parish church of the Santa María de la Misericordia in Apizaco, Tlaxcala, where she was baptized, to secure a copy of her baptismal record.

But, according to the parish priest, Father Marcial Aguila González, her baptismal certificate was lost due to the religious persecutions in 1927. Mamá was born right in the middle of the Cristero War and this explains her missing birth certificate, and this research evoked a desire to write this essay because of a personal connection with Mamá and Papá.

The English translation of the document is as follows:

To Whom It May Concern:

By way of this communication, I do hereby certify that, by virtue of having been baptized in this parish, the carrier: Eloisa Lima Carmona during the epoch of the religious persecution, that is to say in the year 1927, the certificate of baptism was lost and it is not possible to issue a Certificate of Baptism now.

Apizaco, Tlaxcala, March 18, 1946

Your Parish Priest,

Marcial Aguila González

Copy of original document

Moreover, when I was growing up in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Papá would tell me stories of how he helped Father Enrique Tomás Lozano, the parish priest from the church of El Santo Niño de Atoche in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, escape across the Río Grande into Laredo, Texas, in the trunk of his car during the Cristero War. Papá and Father Lozano were very good friends. Father Lozano stayed in Laredo, probably with my father and his family, until the Cristero War was over, and then in 1929, Papá took him back.

On two occasions, in the 1950s, Papá brought him to our house for dinner. We were living in the Barrio El Azteca in Laredo, Texas, at 210 Iturbide Street. The first thing he did when he entered the house was to kneel in front of the framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that Mamá had brought from Mexico and had it hanging on the wall.

And every time Papá and I went walking across the Río Grande to Nuevo Laredo to buy groceries and/or to get a haircut, he would stop by the church to say hello to Father Lozano. The church was just one block away from the international bridge. Father Enrique Tomás Lozano became well known in Nuevo Laredo and Laredo because he converted an old building next to the priests' residence and made it into a safe haven for orphaned boys that he called his beloved "pelones." He shaved their hair for hygienic reasons.

He was very proud of them. And, most importantly, he sent many of them to Monterrey, Mexico, to continue their education, and some became doctors, engineers, lawyers, and teachers.

Fr. Enrique Tomás Lozano

Catholic Church of Santo Niño de Atoche

The Cristero War and its enduring legacy serve as a poignant reminder of the resilience and sacrifice of those who fought for their faith and freedom. This 100th anniversary is not just a historical milestone but a deeply personal reflection of our shared heritage. It bridges the past and present, connecting the stories of martyrs and heroes to personal family experiences that have shaped our identities. Whether through the courage of those who resisted oppression or the kindness of individuals like Father Lozano and Papá, their actions continue to inspire hope, faith, and a commitment to justice for future generations.

By remembering and sharing these stories, we honor their legacy and ensure it is never forgotten.